5 Stores I Miss from My South Jersey Hometown

Once on the corner of Erial and Garwood Road, Terri's Deli had the best cold cuts (shredded turkey please!), hand-dipped ice cream, and (my reason for living at 9 years old) an endless selection of penny candy! It was also the furthest I was allowed to ride my bike from my street on Kohomo Ave. because the sidewalks went all the way from my house to the store.

You guessed it. This was my hometown video rental store. At the corner of Erial and Jarvis Road, Video Madness was a block away from my house, and I'd spend summers off from school riding my bike to and from to rent movies I hadn't seen yet.

In Garwood Plaza off Erial Road, The Big Dipper was the spot for ice cream of all kinds! It was very short lived, but I remember the soft serve being well worth passing the Mister Softee truck by. My friends and I used to sit out on the curb during the hot summer months trying to eat our ice cream before it melted all over our hands.

This was not technically in Erial, but it was located in Gloucester Township. It's no longer in business in the Laurel Hill Plaza off Laurel Road in Clementon, but I so looked forward to trips there to get lobster tail and fried shrimp platters. Always the freshest!

Also once located in Garwood Plaza, Sunshine Drug was the local pharmacy, and a big pharm chain predecessor. They ALWAYS had my BOP and Big Bopper magazines in stock the day they were released each month. And I would just sit in the aisle and flip through the pages to see what new Debbie Gibson or NKOTB pics they published. I'd use my allowance there to pick up a Clearly Canadian soft drink. It's also the first place I ever bought makeup!